Windshield



' May 3.1927. I

E'. W. SAUNDERS wmnsamnv med nec.15, 1924v 2 Sheets-.Sheet 2 which, in addition to having the desirablev Patented May 3, 1927.

[n fr e EDWARD W.'sAUNDERs, or sT. Louis, MISSOURI.

vv'innsniniin.

`'Application led December 15, 1924. 'Serial No. 755,977.

1 This invention relates to wind shields of the type that comprise a protectingfmember arranged in front of a person so' as to protect said personv from wind, rain., snovvor the like, In the conventional wind shields that are used `on f vehicles the protecting means of the shield lis formedby one or more glass panels mounted on a supporting structure in -such a way that said panel or panels are normally setfin a rigid position. Consequently,` in the vevent of an 'accident which causes an :occupant ofthe' vehicle to be thrown forwardly against the glass protectingfmeans of the shield there is great danger of said means being shattered, thus causing injury to theoccupants of the. vehicle.

Themain object of my invention is `to provide a wind shield in which the protecting means of the shield is so constructed andv arranged Atha't'it is capable of moving forwardly freely in the event a person located behind said means is thrown forwardly against same, thereby preventing damage to the protecting means of the shield or injuryto theperson thrown forwardly against said means.

Another object is to provide a wind shield,

characteristic above pointed out, is so constructed that the protecting means of the shield canbe adjusted easily to forma clear vision slot in same 'throughy which persons located behind the shield have anf unobstructed View in inclement weather. Other objects and desirable features of my invention will be hereinafter pointed out.

Figure l of the'drawings is a perspective view of a portion of a vehicley body equipped With-a wind shield `constri'icted in accordance withmy invention. i

Figure 2 is ah'orizontal, transverse sect-ionaljview, takeny on the line 2-2 of Figure '3, loolringdownwardly,and

Figure 3 is a vertical 4sectional view'of my improved windshield.I

.Briefly stated, my broad idea consists of a "wind shield 4comprising a supporting structure, and a"transversely-disposed protecting means mounted on said supporting structure in such a way that it is normally held against rearward movement, but isfca# pable of moving forwardlyr freely in the event a person located at the rear side of said meansis thrown forwardlyv against the same. The transversely-disposedl protecting means of the. shield will usually he formed from one i orvmoi'e glass tpanels land the, means `that determines thev normalposition I of said panel or panels and permits vfree for-v ward movement of same may consist of stops or abutment-s 'arranged' at the rear iside' of z said panel oi' panelsand springs' `or various' other means that normally hold said panel or panels in engagement with-said stopsbut which permit said panel or panels to move forwardly in the event -they are subjected to a forward thrust, aspreviously described.

'In fthe preferred form of in'yinvention, 'as

herein illustrated, the supporting 'structure of the `shield is designated by the reference' characterA, and consists of a rigidv frame. that is mounted at the rear edge of 'the'cowl i -l of a 'vehicle body.- The 'protecting'means of the shield is formed of two transversely' disposed glass panels B1 and Cv arranged inL frames 2 and 2f that are pivotally mounted on the supporting frame or lstructure 'in'such a way that the top panel B can swingup--' wardly and forwardly and t-he bottom panel Cl can swing forwardly andv downwardly.-

When it is desired to afford complete pro-f' tection for the occupants of the vehicle located behind the, shield said 'panels arefarranged inv an upright or vertical` position withfthemeetingedges of said lpanelstogether, and when it -is vdesired to ventilate the passenger compartment ofthe vehicle or v produce a clear vision slot Iin the protecting means-'of the 'shield that affords an unob- Structed view for the' oceupantsin inclement` weather, the panels B and C lareswun for wardly into an inclined position, `as s own in Figures l and'3.

I am aware of the fact that itis old to foi-in the protecting means of a wind shield from twoy glass panels that can be arranged either in an upright'position or in a forwardly-inclined position, but in the eonven` tional vehicle wind shield' of the kind re ferred to, andin fact, all priorwind shields with which anrfamiliar, the Vpart of the shield that is used to protect the person i located behind the shield is normally m0unt- `ed in a rigid positiomand accordingly, is

.means ofthe shield, 'whether saidmeans is formed by one panel or a plurality of panels, 'is mounted in such a way thatfitis held v rigidly against rearward movement, but is fies llt

capable of yielding or moving forwardly y freely in the event it is subjected to a for- `frames 2 and 2a of said panels on arms B2 and C2 that project forwardly from the supportingfstructure A. Said stops are adjustably mounted on the arms that carry same in such a way that they can be arranged at the rear ends of said armswhen it is desired to maintain the panels B and C in an upright position and arranged at intermediate points on said arms or on the outer ends of the arms when it is desired to maintain said panels in 'j an inclined position.. In the wind shield "'f suitable'meanscould be used for supporting -"herein illustrated the stops B and C are p rovided with laterally-projecting bolts or threaded members 3 that are arranged in elongated slotst in the arms B2 and C2, and wing nuts are mounted on said bolts so as to retain said stops in adjusted position, but it will, of course, be obvious that any other the stops B and C and hold them in adjusted position without departing from the spirit of my. invention.` j y The means that is used to hold the panels B ..1 and C in engagement with the stops-B and C must-be of such a character that it will holdy said panels against said stops tightly "enough ,toL prevent said panels from vibrating or rattling, but will permit said panels to swing forwardly away from said stops in the event al person located at the rearside of said panels is thrown forwardly against the same. `One means that I have found to be very eiiicient on account of its simplicity 1,

and ,low ycost and because the pressure it eX- Ierts `on said panels in a direction tending to hold them against theirco-operating stops is increased automatically by the forward y movement of said panels, consists of coiled expansion 'springs B3 and C3 combined with pistons or plungers B4 and Ct that are connected with cables B5 and C5 that are attached to the frames of the panels B and C. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the springs B3 are arranged in spring housings D on the rear side of the supporting structure A and are interposed between. the upper end walls of said housino's and the pistons Band the cables or flexible elements B5 lead rearwardly fromthe side pieces of the frame 2 ofthe top panel B through slotsf in the supporting structure A, and thence downwardly-over guide pulleys 7 to the pistons B4. The

. springs C3 that are associated with the bottom panel C are also arranged in the spring housings D and are interposed between the bottom end walls of said housings and the pistons 4L, the cables or flexible elements C5 that connect 'said pistons to the frame of the botom panel Cy leading rearwardly under guide pulleys 7'nl and thence upwardly to the pistons C4.. In such a structure the tension ofthe springs B3 and CS acting on the cables B5 and C normally holds the panels B and C tightly against the stops B and C', and in view of the fact that said stops are arranged at the rear side of said panels and are clamped tightly to sationary portions on the supporting structure A, it vwill be impossible for either of said panels to swing rearwardly. ever, tending to throw an occupant of the In the event of an accident, howo vehicle forwardly against the panels B and C, said panels will swing forwardly away from the stops B and C, and thus prevent injury to the panels or to the person who strikes against same, the tension of the springs B3 and C3 being `increased: automatically as said panels continue to swing forwardly, and thus setting up a resistance that varies inproportion to the forward thrust or pressure exerted on the panels.

From the foregoingit will `be seenthat my improved wind shield presents practically the same appearance as the conven-v tional wind shield and the vpanels of same can be adjusted in the same manner as the conventional wind shield, but it is a decided improvement on prior wind shields, Vin that the protecting means of same is always in a condition to move forwardly automatically in the event a person located at the rear side of the wind shield is thrown vforwardly against said means with considerable force, therebyy preventimq` said means from being shattered or cracked if it is constructed of glass, as is usually. the case.

Having thus described my invention, what i I vclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A windshield, comprising astationary supporting structure, transversely-disposed top .and bottom glass panels pivotally mounted on said supporting structure, the pivots of the top panel being located adjacent the top edge of same and the pivots of the bottom panel being located adjacent the bottom edge of same, arms projecting forwardly from-said supporting structure at the ends of said panels, stops adjustably mounted on said arms and arranged at the rear side ofv said panels, and a means for normally holding said panels against said stops, constructed so as to permit said panels to swing forwardly automatically under certain conditions.

2. A wind shield, comprising a supporting structure, a protecting memberpivotally ymounted .on said supporting structure, a.

lresilient means that normallyexerts presed directly on saidsupporting structure and adapted to be arranged in oppositely-inclined positions with their adjacent edges spaced apart, and a resilient means that normally holds said panels at rest either in Aa substantially vertical or forwardly-inclined position but which permits said panels to automatically swing forwardly under certain conditions.

4. A wind shield, comprising a pivotally mounted protecting memberan adjustable stop or abutment that is adapted to be set so as to hold saidv member in a substantially vertical or forwardly-inclined position and also prevent said member from swinging rearwardly, and a means for normally holding said member against said stop comprising a spring combined with a flexible device that is connected to said protecting member.

5. A wind shield, comprising a supportng structure, a protecting member pivotally mounted on said supporting structure, a spring housing on said supporting structure, a piston in said spring housing, a flexible element connected to said piston and to said protecting member, a guide on the Supporting structure 'over which said flexible device passes, a spring that acts on said piston and exerts pressure on said protecting member in a direction tending to swing it rear-l wardly, and an adjustable stop for determining the position of said protecting member.

6. A vehicle wind shield, comprising av stationary supporting structure, transverse- 'ly-disposed glass panels pivotally` connected to said supporting structure in such a way that the top panel can swing forwardly and' upwardly and the bottom'panel can swing forwardly and downwardly, adjustablestops on said supporting structure,` arranged at the rear of said panels, a spring housing on said supporting structure, pistons in` said housing, guide rollers on said supporting structure, cables connected to said pistons and to said `panels and arranged to travel over said guide rollers, and springs in said housing arranged to exert pressure on said pistons in a direction to hold said panels against said stops. j

7. A vehicle wind shield, comprising a stationary supporting structure, transversely-disposed top and bottom glass panels pivotally mounted on saidvsupporting structure, the pivots of the top panel being located adjacent the top edge of same and the pivots of the bottom panel being located adjacent the bottom edge of same, armsvprojecting forwardly from said supporting` structure at the ends of said panels, stops adjustably mounted on said arms and arranged adjacent. the rear side of said panels,

spring housings on said supporting structure, springs in said housings, and means combined with said springs for exerting pressure on said panels in a direction tending to draw them rearwardly and hold them tightly against said stops.

EDWARD w. sAUNDE-Rs 

